Similar Tastes
by kankakodoku
Summary: Asch is on a mission...unfortunately, things don't go exactly as planned.


They had just entered the town, finding within it a welcome respite from their wearisome travels across mountainous terrain. At the very least, the paved streets allowed for easy walking, as opposed to tripping over rocks and roots every other minute.

Much to Asch's relief, the party almost immediately split off into different directions with nothing more than a general promise to meet at the inn before nightfall—this was probably for the best, Asch thought, as most of his traveling companions had the attention span of a Malkuthian sandfly. There was another reason why Asch was glad for the separation, though. With a brief surreptitious glance around him to see if anyone was paying him any heed (Jade and Guy were occupied with the weapons booth, the latter blissfully yet unaware of the gaggle of girls but a few feet away animatedly discussing a certain newcomer to the town; Tear was making cautiously inobvious yet obvious side steps towards what seemed to be some sort of stuffed animal booth? Anise had a suspicious eye upon her, and Luke had long-since bounded out of sight), Asch deftly slipped into a side alley to begin his quest.

Asch was quite familiar with this place, oh yes, very familiar. He had been here several times before either for the purpose of meeting or just traveling through in the company of his fellow God-Generals, on their way to the occasional _excursion_ or two. As such, he navigated the side streets through the rounding twists and turns of his roundabout path with the practiced ease of a native-born as he slowly but surely made his way towards his destination. He emerged from the final back alley, his target in sight!—only to be stopped dead in his tracks.

How in the _hell_ had his blasted replica managed to find this place?

Asch grit his teeth in frustration. Despite his view being partially blocked by that worthless piece of dreck's form he could still see what lay just beyond his grasp. Ohhh, how he longed for it. He pined for it. His bones cried out in agony for lack of it. 

Chocolate covered strawberries. Exquisitely flavored foreign chocolates, laced with delectable foreign nuts and berries. Milk chocolate. Dark chocolate. Malkuthian chocolate covered coffee beans. Kimlascan chocolate truffles. Molten chocolate served as a delicious beverage.

All varieties of chocolate confectionaries awaited---but he couldn't go and _buy_ any, because his dratted replica was there and would no doubt spill the beans (_deliciouslyyummychocolatecoveredcoffeebeans_) as soon as they reached the hotel to meet the others.

It would be a severe embarrassment. He was the feared, the renowned Asch the Bloody! Not some menstruating adolescent female! He should not have a weak spot for anything so….so…._girly_ as chocolate.

And yet, he did.

And as it would seem, so did his replica.

It made sense, sort of, and Asch wondered briefly what other tastes they might have in common. This line of thought was broken abruptly as he heard his replica call his name, quite obviously and quite loudly. 

"Asch!"

_…shit._

He quickly banished any look of intimate longing from his expression and assumed a completely nonchalant look, as if being caught ogling chocolate was a perfectly normal—perfectly manly—occurrence.

And it wasn't like the replica knew what he was doing here, for all intents and purposes Asch was just an innocent bystander, completely oblivious to the warm, enticing, oh-so-alluring scent of _chocolate_ pervading the air.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" said Luke brightly as he walked over, an armful of the stand's contents clutched close to his chest.

"Hn." Asch replied unaffectedly. _He has no shame_, Asch thought to himself, though his outside veneer never faltered for a second. _No shame. He even got the damn chocolate covered coffee beans._ "You did remember to pay for those before you walked off with them?"

Luke scowled. "Tear told you about that? Yeah, I paid for these. I'm not quite that clueless anymore."

Asch snorted. "Keep telling yourself that, dreck."

"Geez, what's your problem?" Luke muttered, pausing and casting a suspicious look at Asch as if coming to a realization.

_Uh-oh._

"What are you doing here anyway?" Luke asked.

Time slowed in Asch's mind. _I was making sure you weren't doing anything—no, I don't want the implications of caring one way or the other about this damned brat…I was meandering by! That won't work, it's too blatantly obvious of a lie. Why am I here!?—I…I wanted to find something for—for…._

"This town is famous for its chocolates, I thought that I might stop by and pick up some for the Princess Natalia." Smooth. Perfect. A completely legitimate reason for being at this place.

"Ahh. I see." Luke's face twisted up in thought (Asch liked to think that the effort of even trying to think strained the replica's brain). "Well, they certainly have a good selection of chocolates, that's for sure." 

"Hence why the town is, you know. Famous for them." 

"….right. That was sort of obvious, wasn't it?" 

Asch didn't bother deigning to answer him, merely rolling his eyes and strolled authoritatively over to the booth. Oh _God_. So close. _So close._ Euphoria lay within grasp.

It was hard to limit his selection; he wanted to buy out the whole goddamn place. Which he certainly had the money for (God Generals were paid _quite_ generously), but he couldn't have Luke assuming that his one true goal in life was the downfall of the Kimlascan Princess' slim figure.

"Not to hurry you, sir, but we're about to close…." said the shopkeeper.

Asch made his decision. "I'll take a pound of the chocolate covered strawberries, half a pound of the Keterburg sweet chocolate with Chesedonian nuts, a box of the steamed chocolate mix, and…"

"The chocolate covered coffee beans are quite good," Luke offered helpfully (unhelpfully). "Want to try one?"

_Yes._ "No." Asch turned back to the vendor. "….and also a pound of the chocolate covered coffee beans."

"That'll be eight hundred and ninety-six Gald, sir."

"Here you go." Asch took his change, and his chocolate. The Princess' chocolate. Dammit.

"It's almost dark, we should probably be heading back to the hotel."

"I can keep track of myself quite well on my own, thank you. "

"Fine then, whatever. I don't care." Luke sounded aggravated. "I was just trying to be friendly."

"I find it more likely that you're afraid of the dark and want someone to walk you back."

"That's not true! Dammit! I can walk back on my own just fine. Watch!" And then he took off.

_Finally,_ Asch thought. Luke was predictable on _so_ many levels.

Asch looked back to the booth. They were closed; he had had only had just enough time to make it here after all. Then he looked down at the bags he held in his hands. Freshness sealed. Very obviously freshness sealed. If he opened them, it would be very apparent that he had done so. 

_…..dammit._

--

They met in the hotel lobby, as promised. Anise stood talking to Tear, both of them holding bags from the day's shopping. Guy was hiding behind a planter, rather desperately trying to avoid the women on the hotel staff who seemed to have taken quite a liking to him ("Somebody! _Help!_ Luke! Tear! Jade—"). Luke, Jade, and Natalia seemed to have arrived latest, and stood talking together near the recently lit fire that crackled in the lobby hearth.

"…side to him we haven't seen before, perhaps." Jade commented.

Were they talking about him? Asch scowled at the very thought. Best to get this whole thing over and done with.

"Princess Natalia?" 

"Yes?" she blinked, curiously.

"I happened across a chocolate stall, and picked up some for you. The town is quite renowned for its expertise with creating masterpieces with the sweet."

"Oh! Asch! That's very kind of you…."

Ah, this was going well.

"But, ever since I became ill with the stomach flu directly after eating chocolate when I was twelve, I haven't been able to palate any of it, no matter how refined. Why, the very sight of it makes me ill!"

…or not.

"….I see."

"I like chocolate," said Luke plaintively. "You could give it to me."

"And why on earth would I give these to you, dreck?" Asch retorted.

"Well….if Natalia doesn't want them, then they're pretty much just going to waste." Luke paused. "Unless, of course, you were planning on eating—" 

Asch abruptly shoved the whole bag into Luke's arms. "Take it."

"Aw, really? That's awfully nice of you, I wasn't expecting you to actually—"

"Shut up, dreck, or I'll take it back." Damned replicas. Damned _replicas_.

Natalia blinked at the exchange. "Oh my. I'm sorry for all the trouble…" 

Asch shook his head, unable to conceal at least a trace of dejection. "Don't worry about it, Princess."

"Luke! Natalia! Guys! The room's ready for check-in!" Tear called from next to the service desk (was that a teddy bear poking out from the top of her open shopping bag?---no, Asch didn't want to know—everyone had their secret fetishes that they didn't want to make known to others, after all).

"I'm going to eat well tonight!" crowed Luke as he walked off, all of Asch's chocolate merrily enclosed within his arms. (Asch thought he heard Natalia chide: "That had better not be _all_ that you eat, Luke." as they faded out of earshot.)

Their departure left him alone with Jade. Jade. Oh. _Great.  
_  
Yes, the bastard was laughing at him. The Colonel was regarding him with an entirely too merry look in his eyes---what everyone else might have been oblivious to, Asch knew this man would certainly not miss. And his studies into fomicry probably only lent more clarity to the situation. 

_Wonderful_, thought Asch.

Jade opened his mouth to speak, and Asch inwardly (though never outwardly) cringed. "My my, I never would have expected one such as you to have…shall we say, such a _sweet_ side?"

Ritual suicide sounded really great right now.

Who knew, perhaps in the afterlife, there'd be chocolate.


End file.
